Chapter 594

Chapter 594: The First Battle is a Success

Everything was a disguise.

The "Dragon General" tactical armor could not make a person move faster than the human eye could see. When Henghai Defense custom-made it for Lin Mo, it was only a theoretical value. Like most products, achieving even sixty to seventy percent of its potential was already an outstanding performance, with more capabilities kept as redundancy.

The pilot was indeed the best position for light element warriors. In the endless sky, there was an abundance of light element energy. After exhausting his battle energy in America, all Lin Mo needed to do was fly a few circles in the air. In an unobstructed environment, countless photons converged toward him, and he could feel the cyclone of light energy rapidly replenishing.

With vibrant light element energy active within him, Lin Mo could burst forth with extraordinary speed and strength, and under the cover of the "Dragon General," all of this seemed natural to outsiders.

Furthermore, the Special Forces were essentially a gathering place for extraordinary beings.

As Special Forces operatives from various units gathered from all directions, it took at least five days. The first phase tested their survival skills in urban and wilderness environments, and if they were unfortunate enough to be caught by the police…

Heh, they would be directly out.

If they had to undertake any temporary infiltration missions, it would be a disaster.

When everyone’s gaze found Lin Mo again, he was already by the door of another transport helicopter sixty meters away. As the humanoid robot brought from the Aircrew Group’s hangar stepped out, it stunned many once more.

No words were needed; the technical strength of the "Night" Special Forces was evident.

The aircrew members from other Special Forces units looked both envious and jealous. Their bases had robots too, but they were combat-type, and the maintenance robots were not humanoid and couldn’t be brought out. They had no research and development capabilities, so they could only use what the manufacturers provided.

Such high-level technical talents could not be retained in the military.

There were barely any like Lin Mo, with exceptional abilities in multiple areas.

Even so, domestic aviation research institutions were already planning Lin Mo’s post-military career, knowing he was bound to be supported by the military for life, so there was no chance he would follow most pilots into civil aviation flying passenger planes.

“Gold Coin, bring the stuff; we’re leaving!”

Lin Mo exercised his authority as the deputy leader for the first time. Although he could only command this and a humanoid robot controlled by a core processor of the gold giant dragon, the others had already prepared their equipment for assembly without needing orders.

…

“Grab the multimeter and get a harmonic suppressor too.”

“Careful, check the self-test procedure; don’t let there be an embarrassing incident like a malfunction in the indicator lamp.”

“Inspect the fuel system; I need copper wire. Bring me twenty 5000 microfarad mica capacitors.”

“Gold Coin, equip the electromagnetic scanning module and X-ray detection module, and conduct a detailed scan of this communication module board to see if there are any burnt or short-circuited components.”

Before the main Special Forces operatives arrived, the aircrew groups of the Special Forces units had already started their preparations.

As combat personnel, they relied on their force; as technicians, they relied on their skills. Each aircrew group had a WZ-12 deliberately damaged as their opening competition project. Their task was to perfectly restore it, and if they could make additional technical improvements, the judging panel would reward bonus points.

As the most advanced armed helicopter in the country, this posed a significant challenge. For a competition among the nation’s top forces, normal standards could not be applied. The competition rules were often unexpected and brutally challenging.

Sometimes, luck was part of strength.

Don’t be fooled by the surface appearance of these WZ-12s, fresh from the manufacturer and still wrapped with dustproof stickers; internally, they had been tampered with and many old parts had been replaced.

Some were good, some were bad. Judging by the dust and rust of the components might lead to disastrous mistakes, and the organizers had long considered this.

The judging panel would score based on the repair time and extent of repairs, with only one winner—the prize being the WZ-12 they repaired.

Winning an armed helicopter as a reward was clearly advantageous for the combat capability of the Special Forces. The competition for equipment had already begun to smoke, with sparks flying as the mechanics from different groups clashed their gazes.

“Now announcing the rankings: First place goes to ‘Night’! Bonus points: 15!”

Before sunset, the judging panel declared the winner of the repair project.

All members of the "Night" Aircrew Group cheered, having achieved their best score ever.

That’s right, Lin Mo had activated his special skills, as he always did.

If luck is a form of strength, then having the gold giant dragon’s assistance was nearly as good as pure luck. Lin Mo had no qualms about discreetly letting Gold Coin help him during the competition.

Repairing physical damage to metal components was easy for the gold giant dragon, even easier than eating, especially enhancing the precision of engine components, transmission mechanisms, and gear assemblies, which directly improved performance.

With the gold giant dragon’s suggestions for improving electronic circuits, Lin Mo showcased the refurbished armed helicopter with various maneuvers and swift, accurate firepower. As an ace pilot, he demonstrated a style that was truly unique.

Second place?

There is no second place!

In battle, only the victor remains alive; everyone else is lost.

Those who complain about social injustice while burying their heads in effort will never understand the brutality of war or the joy of simply being able to breathe.

With various additional functional modules, the robot combined with an ace pilot made the other aircrew groups feel there was no shame in losing this time.

They also knew that in the "Night" Aircrew Group, there was a veteran from the aviation industry who was a disciple of an esteemed figure. Although he specialized in aerodynamics, the technical expertise in design always surpassed that of maintenance, a disadvantage they could never overcome. No matter how skilled a maintenance worker was, it couldn’t compare to the designer’s deep understanding of the product.

In truth, the real winner was not the "Night" Aircrew Group but the WZ-12 manufacturer, Jiangxi Changhe Aircraft Industry Group, the well-known manufacturer of the Changhe minivan.

Selling tens of thousands of yuan of Changhe Wuling microvans across the vast regions of the Yangtze River, they made home and car dreams come true for many middle-class families.

Few could imagine that the manufacturer of these inexpensive vehicles was also the producer of China’s armed helicopters.

Like Hongdu, which produces the L-15 advanced training aircraft, this half-military, half-civilian equipment supplier always brings a sense of stark contrast to those who discover the truth.

No Changhe minivan driver could ever fathom that what they and the WZ series pilots flew came from the same factory.

The performance improvement from the bonus points for the WZ-12 became the biggest gain for this championship prize sponsor, with zero research and development costs, essentially trading product for technology. Compared to military orders, this cost was negligible.

The people at Jiangxi Changhe were overjoyed, having gained the improvement plan for the control module. Just like Shenyang Aircraft Corporation working with Lin Mo, it was another win-win situation.

The country went to great lengths to hold this competition, but it didn’t actually cost much of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money.

“Come, let’s have a barbecue together tonight! I’ll go buy two sheep.”

Old Pan finally felt a sense of relief. This was the best result ever for their aircrew group. Although there were other events in the following days, the first day’s achievements, while still early, boosted morale. The "Night" Aircrew Group was riding high.

“Hey! You’re the ‘Dragon Knight’, right?”

Lin Mo was just about to respond to Old Pan’s suggestion when he heard someone speaking English behind him. He paused and turned around.

It was a foreigner, likely a U.S. Air Force officer with the rank of Colonel.

“I am the ‘Dragon Knight.’ Who are you?” Lin Mo removed his Dragon General tactical helmet to see the man more clearly.

In the dusk, taking off the tactical helmet allowed him to see the other man’s face better.

It was surprising that someone knew his call sign.

“David de Hitt, flight call sign ‘Eagle King!’”

David introduced himself in a succinct military manner, conveying that he was a peer.

The American colonel looked to be in his forties, his white skin showing large pores, with noticeable sunspots from excessive ultraviolet exposure—something not everyone would experience.

Eagle King?

Was this a challenge?

Lin Mo narrowed his eyes slightly; there were few pilots with the title “King” unless they were exceptionally skilled. Otherwise, they would face disdain from their fellow pilots and lack recognition from superiors.

The military always ranked individuals based on strength.

“You must be the one who shot down ‘Dark Hawk.’”

Seeing Lin Mo’s silence, Colonel David de Hitt spoke up again.

“I don’t understand!”

Lin Mo had never met this “Dark Hawk” person, and China had no record of public air battles with the U.S.

If the F-22 shot down last year in Fujian was that “Dark Hawk,” Lin Mo could assure him it was not his doing; he must have mistaken him for someone else.

David laughed lightly, unfazed, and continued, “Let me give you a few more hints: during the conflict between India and Pakistan, you shot down two ‘Tejas’ fighter jets with your teammates, right? The pilot who landed at the same spot as you is ‘Dark Hawk.’ You don’t need to rush to deny it; you probably already know the true identity of ‘Dark Hawk.’ If not, Lockheed wouldn’t be constantly trying to give you trouble. Everyone knows that.”

He looked at Lin Mo with a confident expression and eyes that flashed with the sharpness of an eagle falcon, making it clear that the title “Eagle King” was far from a mere nickname.